What we learned: Hawks collapse again

What we learned (Week 6)

By By ADAM LEWIS & ARI LILJENWALL

on October 18, 2015 6:50 PM

Photo: Elaine Thompson, Associated Press

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Lack of a finishing touch (again)

The Seahawks preached it all week after blowing a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead in an overtime road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.The team's official Twitter account tweeted it Sunday when Seattle took a 20-14 lead into the fourth quarter:
"Finish."

Instead, the Seahawks surrendered a fourth-quarter lead for the second consecutive week, and for the fourth time this season. The offense failed to run enough clock on its penultimate drive after getting set back by a holding penalty on Marshawn Lynch.
Cornerback Richard Sherman maintained that the defense played well.

"We had two turnovers today. We had multiple stops," he said. "I think obviously there's mistakes had, a few missed tackles. But everything's correctable, as always, but I thought we played a good game overall. We gave ourselves a chance to win."

But they didn't. Again. And the issue of late-game struggles that dates back to Super Bowl XLIX will be raised until the Seahawks can buck the trend.

"We rebound from every game," Chancellor said. "We just got to do it. Enough talking about it. We just got to do it." less

Lack of a finishing touch (again)

The Seahawks preached it all week after blowing a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead in an overtime road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.The team's official Twitter account tweeted it ... more

For the Seahawks, the Week 6 loss was just a re-write of what has become an all-to-familiar script.
Seattle once again jumped out to a big lead and put themselves in prime position to finish off a much-needed victory after Steven Hauschka gave the Seahawks a 20-7 advantage with a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter. But, once again, Seattle let the game slip away in the fourth quarter, allowing the Panthers to march down the field for two late touchdowns that sealed the 27-23 loss.

The inability of the offense to protect leads once they’re gained has been an issue for Seattle all season. The Seahawks won the ball back with the lead on multiple occasions on Sunday and could have put the nail in the Panthers' coffin with any sort of sustained drives ending in points. But a combination of ill-timed penalties and poor execution led to Seattle punting the ball right back each time, allowing the Panthers to hang around and simply giving them too many chances to mount the comeback.

The sequence of events bared an eerie resemblance to similar late-game collapses against Cincinnati, St. Louis, Green Bay and Detroit. The formulaic nature of these losses is perplexing, and it's difficult to point to an exact reason for Seattle's inability to correct the issue. But they'll certainly have to sooner rather than later if they plan on salvaging their season and remaining an NFC powerhouse in 2015. less

Offense unable to protect leads (again)

For the Seahawks, the Week 6 loss was just a re-write of what has become an all-to-familiar script. Seattle once again jumped out to a big lead and put themselves in ... more

The continued late-game lapses by the Seattle offense shouldn't distract from the fact that the defense suffered yet another second-half collapse of its own.
After bottling up Cam Newton in the first half, Newton was nearly perfect in the fourth quarter, going 12-15 for 164 yards and the game-winning touchdown to tight end Greg Olsen on the Panthers' final drive. It was a transformation that left the Legion of Boom scratching their heads after the game as to how the Carolina offense was able to flip that late switch that sealed Seattle's fate.

"It's very frustrating, especially when, you know, we had them," safety Earl Thomas told reporters after the game. "We don't suck. We know who we are. We're not finishing. We know our offense is going to battle and we know we're going to be put in those pressure situations every game. We know that."

Seattle's secondary had a miscommunication on Olsen's touchdown that allowed the tight end to slip into the end zone uncovered for the easy score, an oversight that cornerback Richard Sherman attributed to confusion surrounding the defensive playcall.
Regardless of the cause, Seattle's much-lauded defense has suddenly looked uncharacteristically vulnerable in key situations in much the same way the offense has. less

Torched by Cam

The continued late-game lapses by the Seattle offense shouldn't distract from the fact that the defense suffered yet another second-half collapse of its own. After bottling up Cam Newton in ... more

Photo: Elaine Thompson, Associated Press

Torched by Cam
The continued late-game lapses by the Seattle... Photo-8813010.118906 - seattlepi.com

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Graham-watch: Week 6

Tight end Jimmy Graham saw his role come under glaring scrutiny after Seattle struggled to effectively integrate him into its offense in the early part of the season. On Sunday, however, Graham quelled many of those concerns -- at least temporarily.

Russell Wilson targeted his towering tight end 12 times, and the payoff was evident. Graham hauled in 8 catches for 140 yards, a performance that was much more reminiscent of the dominant offensive force he showed himself capable of being during his time with the New Orleans Saints.
Graham's big game will likely be of little consolation to Seahawks fans still reeling after watching their team get off to an unexpected 2-4 start to the season. But if there was one glaring positive for Seattle offensively from Sunday's contest, the resurgent performance from the man tasked with being Wilson's most dynamic receiving threat can be considered that silver lining. less

Graham-watch: Week 6

Tight end Jimmy Graham saw his role come under glaring scrutiny after Seattle struggled to effectively integrate him into its offense in the early part of the season. On Sunday, however, ... more

Can the Seahawks rally from a 2-4 record as they rallied from a 3-3 mark last season?
Per stats.com, only 8.3 percent of 2-4 teams made the postseason since 1990. The last time the Seahawks started 2-4 came in 2011, coach Pete Carroll's second season in Seattle. The Seahawks finished that year 7-9.

"They're down," coach Pete Carroll said. "But if you listen to what they say after we broke it down at the end, you couldn't find a way to be more proud of them, because they're talking about believing, and believing in each other, and believing in what we're here to do."

The Seahawks play the 49ers on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium in a battle of last-place teams.
The silver lining: The first-place Arizona Cardinals (4-2) lost Sunday to the Steelers, meaning Seattle didn't lose any ground in the division. But a loss to a struggling San Francisco team would give the Seahawks little or no margin for error less than halfway through the season. less

What now?

Can the Seahawks rally from a 2-4 record as they rallied from a 3-3 mark last season? Per stats.com, only 8.3 percent of 2-4 teams made the postseason since 1990. The last time the Seahawks ... more

Photo: Stephen Brashear, Associated Press

What now?
Can the Seahawks rally from a 2-4 record as they... Photo-8812463.118906 - seattlepi.com